Stocks turned higher across the board on Thursday afternoon with the Dow as results from Salesforce (CRM) lifted the index and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq shook off early losses.
Near 2:30 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% with the Nasdaq up closer to 0.4%. The blue chip Dow was higher by closer to 0.9%, with Salesforce’s 12% rally accounting for about half of the Dow’s daily gain.
Rates remained a key focus for investors, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note standing north of 4% after hitting this level on Wednesday for the first time since November.
The rise in yields has come as investors brace for more aggressive action from the Federal Reserve in the coming months as inflation stays elevated and the economy remains strong.
On the front end of the Treasury curve, the yield on 2-year notes continued to trade near its highest level since 2007. The 2-year yield, which stood near 4.8% on Thursday morning, is seen as the best proxy for investor expectations of the Fed’s near-term path for interest rates.
In single-stock moves, shares of Salesforce were up 12% near midday on Thursday as investors cheered the company’s latest quarterly report, which saw the embattled Dow member double down on cost-cutting initiatives and shareholder return plans.
The stock’s opening gap higher was its largest since Aug. 2020, according to data from Bloomberg.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi late Wednesday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said in reference to the company’s efficiency initiatives: “We have hit the hyper-space button.”
The company announced in its quarterly report an increase in its share repurchase authorization to $20 billion, with COO Brian Millham telling investors on a call, “We’re inspecting every part of our business to find opportunities to drive efficiencies and reduce cost of sales, marketing, and G&A.”
Salesforce’s 12% jump, good for a roughly $21 per share increase in the stock price, was adding roughly 140 points to the price-weighted Dow index.
Elsewhere in single-stock moves, shares of troubled bank Silvergate (SI) were down as much as 55% on Thursday after the company delayed the filing of its annual report and said it would likely report losses larger than those previously disclosed.
The bank took on several high-profile crypto clients in recent years and has seen its share price collapse by more than 90% in the wake of the failure of FTX, among other crypto bankruptcies.
Tesla (TSLA) shares were also in focus on Thursday, falling as much as 7% as the electric carmaker held its latest investor day on Wednesday, which revealed few new product details but emphasized the company’s push to unlock new efficiencies in its manufacturing and design processes.
On the economic data side, the weekly report on initial jobless claims showed 190,000 new filings for unemployment insurance were made last week, the latest sign the labor market remains robust. Though tomorrow marks the first Friday of the month, the February jobs report will not be released until March 10.
